The Aburame Clan: Behind Shades of Darkness
by Thug in Black
Summary: While Naruto and the others go in search of Sasuke, Shino is on a mission with his father. Though seemingly an insignificant task, this mission will take a personal turn, behind the shades of the most mysterious clan of all: Aburame
1. The Calling of the Destruction Bugs

Disclaimer: As unfortunate as it may be, I do not own or hold any rights  
over Naruto  
  
Author Note 1: If anyone could tell me the name of Shino's dad...that would  
be much appreciated...  
  
Key: "" is talking '' is thinking  
  
The Aburame Clan: Behind Shades of Darkness  
  
Chapter 1: The Calling of the Destruction Bugs  
  
The hours passed with excruciating stagnation as the pitiful, huddled form of the prince of bugs lied with paralytic stillness as, with the passing of each moment, life seemed to crawl further away. His grasp upon reality slowly began to slip away, a long string of deadly destruction bugs slowly trooped away from his weakened form as his control over his miniature army waned. But then, just as his vision began to darken and all of consciousness began to slip into nothingness, the single sound of familiarity, that which had haunted him since the earliest of years, his bane, his curse, his blessing reappeared as an undeniable beacon of light. Buzzzzzzzzz.  
  
"My body...the poison gas..." Shino gasped, his voice cracking with uncharacteristic weakness.  
  
"Don't move," the voice, one filled with the surety and strength of the Aburame clan but the silent concern of the circumstance, commanded stolidly. "I'm sending my bugs to draw the poison out."  
  
"Father..."  
  
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Aburame Shino was a boy of few words. His eyes and ears ensnared all that might pass his way with unmistakable completeness, but his voice was of little use to him. But here, in his weakened state, restricted to the confines of a bed, words seemed a necessity to satisfy his over-zealous acquaintances. Each day his teammates had visited, drawing him into reluctant conversation. Today was the ever-explosive Kiba and Akamura.  
  
"We've been perfecting a new jutsu and with it we'll be unstoppable! Isn't that right Akamura?" The small dog barked in exuberant agreement. "That's good news for you Shino! We do need to have a strong leader for team 8 right?" Shino's temperament remained unchanged, and if it was, it was hidden behind the depth of his sunglasses. He nodded in obviously forced courtesy. Kiba's face darkened. 'Who does he think he is??? Acting as if he is the team leader being reported to by a subordinate! I'll show him!'  
  
"What? You don't believe me Shino? I'm show you!! Akamura let's go! Sou Tou Rou!!"  
  
"......" Akamura remained comfortably stretched out on Shino's bed yawning lazily.  
  
"COME ON AKAMURA! We have to show him our new move!!!" The little white lump rolled over onto his back and returned his master with a chirp of a bark. "What? You think it's a waste of time and chakra? *sigh* I guess. But trust me Shino it's the ultimate jutsu!" Shino glanced to the door.  
  
"Thank you for your visit Kiba, but your departure is imminent." He stated coolly. Kiba looked at his teammate quizzically, but before he could speak the door opened widely revealing the austere form of the monarch of the Aburame clan.  
  
Sensing the necessity of his absence, Kiba stepped around the man, giving an ending call to Shino, and disappeared around the corner.  
  
"Shino, its time, the bugs you lost from the poison, recover them."  
  
"Father, my chakra is not yet fully recovered. If I may delay a week then..." Shino's father glared sternly. The solidity of is features reflected his answer and his impatience for argument.  
  
"These bugs of yours, each was hand selected for their strength and ability. Any further delay and you will not recover them all. A loss of a single bug will be your downfall in battle." Shino nodded in submissive obedience and, in a flurry of bugs (the few he retained), disappeared from the room.  
  
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Shino walked quietly through the street. The incessant buzzing that had encompassed the bulk of his auditory life seemed multiplied in force. With the absence of a great majority of his bugs the buzz from those remaining achingly echoed throughout all of his body. Yet his face showed indifference; this pain was expected. These bugs that gave him power, these bugs that tormented him constantly, they were the only creatures that truly understood and comprehended the depths of his being. Their buzz was the only sound of friendship he had ever had and truly, they were the only ones beside him. As a member of the Aburame clan his solitude was ingrown: it was in his blood to be alone. Mystery and perplexity were a part of his clan, a part of his family, and, inevitably, a part of himself. The people of the village scurried around busily (in that it was always busy in the village now) moving around the boy avoiding his path. He was not rejected or hated by those of the village, he was simply an unknown, as were his people, and there is always fear for the unknown. And so he glided, like a shadow, through the town and into the forests beyond. He moved more swiftly now, jumping from tree to tree with ease and simplicity, never once removing his hands, now firmly entrenched into his heavy gray coat pockets. Finally he discovered it, the place of his battle with Kankuro.  
  
It was clearly evident that this was the place. The trees were mutilated: dying from cuts and poisons. A circle of shrubbery below was long dead, decimated by Kankuro's poison smoke bomb. And there it was, his own ledge, the one on which he had lied for hours, sweating and paralyzed from the poisons breathed into his body. Quickly he situated himself upon it, this being the place where his bugs had left him, here would he recall them.  
  
Shino closed his eyes, quieting himself in necessary meditation. Slowly his hands lifted, arms outstretched, fingers bent and strained downwards. Sweat began to form and slide ever-so-slowly down his face, but gradually, the silence of the woods began to be overcome with a deep hum, quiet at first, but, as moment by moment passed, growing in intensity and ferocity. Soon the forest was filled with the hum, deafening to normal ears, but comforting to Shino's. Soon afterwards the forest was darkened by a blanket of black, and a smirk of satisfaction spread across the boy's face. 'Silence.' The hum halted instantly. 'Come.' Thousands of obedient destruction bugs flooded towards the boy, entering through every pores and openings in his body. With each passing moment he could feel his power returning and, as the last of his creatures returned to him, he tested his strength. His arms shook violently, plastered barely off of his body, this time palms up, fingers as if holding a mighty force in their grips. Then, with a changing of the breeze, Shino's head shot heavenward, arms following suit, unleashing the potent fury of his insects. A single thought crowded his mind: 'decimation.' They seemed to appear from the forest floor, their dark bodies overwhelming the nine trees surround Shino's form. In seconds the forest floor felt the result of their fury, as wooden shards and splinters rained to the ground, colossal lords among trees, utterly annihilated. Satisfied, Shino gathered his bugs and disappeared towards the village. But another pair of pale, all-seeing eyes, remained, fixated on the destruction.  
  
"Such power..." 


	2. Mystery and Nobility Clash: The Limitati...

Disclaimer: As unfortunate as it may be, I do not own Naruto.  
  
Author Notes: If anyone knows, has the name of Shino's father even been revealed yet or do I have to just make it up?  
  
Key: "" is talking '' is thinking  
  
Chapter 2: Mystery and Nobility Clash: The Limitations of the Byakugan  
  
The kunai was intercepted by Shino's shield of bugs before it had eclipsed even half the distance toward its intended target. In seconds the weapon deteriorated into the mass of black insects.  
  
"Come out Neji." Shino stated simply, no visible divergence in composure or tone incorporated into his words. The genius of Hyuuga, though shocked by Shino's perceptive capabilities, appeared on the limb of a tree directly beside Shino's with his common look of omniscience. Shino's expression lay hidden behind the darkness of his shades. "What do you want?"  
  
"A measurement of my true abilities." Shino's eyebrows furrowed. Neji, interpreting this response as one of ignorance, expounded. "A test." Shino understood. Neji's fight with Naruto had left him empty, without composition to compliment the innovation of ideas racing through his mind. He accepted now the power of will and the folly of destiny, but his mind continued to search for answers and nutrient to feed this new view. He wanted to know the possibilities of hard work, the true power of will, but most of all, he wanted to know the strength in himself. After altering his structural basis of all thought, he needed to know where he was: a gauge for his own abilities. And here he had discovered Shino, a fellow genius and prince of a clan, and he was to be the ruler by which to measure himself. Strength was a necessity; there was no argument in that. But here he needed to discover his true strength of self, no longer accepting the opinions of the village, but truly understanding where he stood. If the sweats and toils of work could eclipse destiny and genius, where did he truly lie? He who had always been destined into genius and strength, where did his powers lie in this world of grit and resolve? His calculating mind required a response, and the solution to his questions stood before him in a battle with this behemoth of strength.  
  
"Byakugan!" Neji's eyes crackled with chakra, the excess bulging heavily from the veins surrounding the eyes. His spectrum of sight was almost absolute now and even the silent movements of Shino's deadly assassins could not be hidden from his view now. Neji charged toward Shino, chakra- filled hands prepared, aching to prove their strength. Shino ducked beneath the blow, but Neji was primed for this simple maneuver. With incredible speed Neji's body began to spin and, before Shino could even begin to escape, Neji unleashed his power. "Kaiten!" Shino's form, pummeled directly by the force of the attack, flew back, slamming viciously into a tree, immediately bursting into a mass of dark destruction bugs. "Kaiwarimi..." Neji processed, realizing it instantly. Even with his Byakugan, the composition of Shino's bug clones were so like his own bug- infested body that discrimination between actuality and clone was an impossibility. The bugs from Shino's Kaiwarimi, once firmly settled, began to crawl with intense speed toward the pale-eyed boy. Again Neji spun his body, unleashing the devastation of his Kaiten on the horde of insects. By this time, Shino had disappeared into the overgrowth of trees. 'Fighting with stealth. He chooses to direct his bugs in an attempt to catch me off- guard, a foolish strategy against my Byakugan.' Neji thought arrogantly. He scanned the area carefully, searching for his adversary. *step* Quickly, he spun his body again, unleashing another sphere of blue chakra, scattering a swarm of bugs traveling directly in the single blind spot of his Byakugan.  
  
"Impressive Shino. Understanding the limitation of my Byakugan is quite a discovery. Then again it is expected of one teamed with Hinata," Neji called into the throng of trees. "But this err in range is slight, and the appendage of one of your insects stepped out of line. There is great importance on even the smallest of things, true?" he called mockingly. Outwardly he exuded confidence but inwardly he noted the mistake of stillness. 'Movement is necessary, continual movement will eliminate his ability to capitalize on my blind spot. His bugs don't have the necessary speed to avoid my Byakugan while in motion. I too should use the foliage of the forest. The leaves on these trees are thick, they'll further cover my position if I continue to move from tree to tree. Then I can study his attack and focus on any movements in the trees.' The boy decided, diving into the depth of another tree.  
  
Within seconds his inescapable white eyes captured the rustle of leaves, only a few, but no one can remain in complete stillness. A thin smile spread across Neji's face, 'Only two trees away. And his back is turned to me, here's my chance.' He vaulted with ferocious intensity, hurling his entire body, hands first, toward the position with dangerous speed. His powerful hands planted heavily onto his opponent's back, driving Shino forcefully into the trunk of another tree. Again Shino's form dissolved into a lump of bugs, forcing Neji to disperse their attack with another Kaiten. Neji landed perfectly onto Shino's former residence uncharacteristically confused and gasping fiercely for breath. The chakra consumed by his Kaiten was taking its toll. 'How did he avoid my attack? My movements were silent and my speed sufficient. The battle should be over.' Neji's perplexity was ended by a swift sweep to the legs, effectively removing his legs from beneath him, clearing him from his perch and into a downward fall towards the forest floor. 'Another attack from my blind spot.' The chakra glowed around his feet as he concentrated on magneting onto the tree. A shadow fell upon him and Neji glanced upwards, revealing Shino plunging towards him, a tail of bugs trailing behind, at unprecedented speed. Neji cringed, the drain in chakra left pains of emptiness aching within his body. 'I can't keep going long, I'll have to end this now!' He, now perfectly implanted on the trunk of the tree, prepared for his falling adversary.  
  
"64-hit tenketsu combo!" Neji's arms blurred with speed, no longer visible arms, but color distorted by celerity. The power of his strikes froze Shino's falling frame in place, his weight being upheld and even lifted by each strike. "Four hits! Eight hits! 16 hits! 32 hits! 64 hits!" With the completion of his final blow, Neji pushed forcefully off off his tree trunk, flipping himself above Shino's head so simply as if they battled on the horizontal floor below. With a hefty kick to Shino's head, Shino's form rocketed downward, striking the floor with a reverberating thud. Neji, recovering his footing on the trunk after his vertical flip, slid down to the ground collapsing gratefully onto the grass carpeted earth underfoot. Even from his crumpled position, eyes, completely drained of their Byakugan, thankfully closed, body overburdened, depleted of nearly all of its chakra, he managed a taunt of victory.  
  
"Don't try to get up. Your injuries from your impact with the ground are miniscule in comparison to that which my 64-hit Jyuken (gentle fist) taijutsu technique inflicted upon you. All of your chakra points are shut, and unless you possess the unnatural chakra power of Naruto, your body is paralyzed. Forfeit and I will return you to the village for your necessary treatments." There was no response, not a single sound tainted the perfect silence. But in seconds it was upon him, a low hum, ominously minute, but expanding in intensity, slowly but distinctly. Panic crept across Neji's drained features, he attempted to free himself from the forest floor, but, with weakened limbs, failed, collapsing again onto the ground. With the remainder of his strength, Neji lifted his quaking head upwards, focusing in disbelief as Shino, cloaked in an aura of strength, approached. The buzz was deafening now, the entirety of the forest floor engulfed with waves of destruction bugs. Even Neji's own body was host to several previously unnoticed pests, hovering dangerously above his own tenketsu points.  
  
"How did these...how are you...how..." Neji gasped out painfully, perplexity and shock overwhelming all injuries. Shino, seemingly ignoring Neji's broken form completely, glanced deep into the woods.  
  
"The gift of all-encompassing vision gives great strength to its holder. The basis of your strength is derived from your Byakugan, nearly being able to see 360 degrees around yourself. This ability eliminates the possibility of surprise, allowing one to preconceive any attack upon themselves. But your vision is not complete, your Byakugan has its limits, not only a blind spot, but a limited 50 foot radius. This battle was fought completely within those 50 feet, but it was won outside of this sphere." Neji looked at him questioningly, Shino continued. "I have known that you were following me in these woods since I recovered my bugs. The seclusion of these woods create a perfect atmosphere for training and your heavy emission of chakra through every tenketsu point in your body was instantly discovered by my bugs. Before you even came into view, far before you could have used your Byakugan, I released these..." Upon these words, four miniscule bugs approached from every corner, north, south, east, and west. "Scout bugs. I have a deep connection with my bugs. They follow the orders of mind, seeing into my very thoughts, and I too, when concentrating properly, see into theirs. Notice the difference in these four bugs." Neji glanced at each of them with his pervasive eyes. 'They're eyes are larger than normal destruction bugs.' As if reading his thoughts, Shino nodded. "Their eyes are larger and can focus at will, and with our connection, I can see through these eyes. Your Byakugan spans an impressive 50 foot radius, by my vision is infinite. These four were positioned just outside of your range, about 100 feet from the battle in each direction. Your positions and attacks, I saw them all before they occurred, and my vision has no blind spots. Each of your own moves were planned, I allowed your 64-hit attack, as a distraction so that my bugs could reach you in your lapse in concentration. You couldn't possibly concentrate on hitting my tenketsu points with accuracy and notice the movements of my bugs behind you."  
  
Neji lied in complete disbelief. "But my attack, you should be in worse condition then I am right now..." As these words eclipsed the ends of his lips, his eyes widened again as Shino's form altered again. The skin on his body seemed to move, and in seconds, a thinly layered wall of bugs dissolved off of every part of his body.  
  
"Call it an armor of bugs. A move I created in observation of Gaara's battle..."  
  
"The Suna no Yoroi (armor of sand)! You...copied his defense? Who...what are you...?" Ignoring Neji's interruption Shino continued with his explanation.  
  
"I am the worst enemy for you Neji. My eyes cannot be analyzed by your gaze because they lie behind my dark sunglasses, your ability to release chakra from every point in your body attracts my bugs to you more than a regular shinobi, and even if you had immobilized my body, you would be finished." Upon Neji inquiring look Shino persisted. "I control my bugs with my mind, paralyzing my body is useless to stop their attack." Slowly the bugs moved away from Neji's body, gathering again into their master. "You're finished, I'll bring you back to the village." Shino moved again toward the village, a leash of bugs uplifting Neji's frail form gently above the ground.  
  
'What a guy you are Aburame Shino. Your strength far obscures my own. Now I know, my obsession with fate has made me weak. I must train, developing my strength of will, like you and Naruto, to truly become strong.' Neji's mind began to fall into unconciousness, 'you are truly strong Shino. I aspire to gain such power...' 


	3. Within the Aburame Hive

Disclaimer: As unfortunate as it may be, I do not own Naruto.  
  
Author Notes: Alright, I guess there is just no name for Shino's father yet, any suggestions for made-up names? I've gotten through alright so far, but its getting tough to leave him without a name. It seems customary to shout-out and thank people that have commented, and its pretty cool to read your comments and such so I guess I'll do that too.  
  
SprawlingKitsune( Good to be non-irritating, always a plus. I do believe you were the first person to comment, cool, thanks.  
  
MentosMoe( Check it out, two comments from this one. Thanks for the comments, nothing but encouragement, thanks.  
  
Ravens Quill( Yeah, what can I say, I've never been one that liked to write about what everybody else have already done. Not to mention Shino owns.  
  
Kenshinsgirl4life( Thanks, sorry it took so long to put out a new chapter, I've just been really stressed with real stuff to do and didn't have any free time. Thanks for reading, and I kinda liked that fight too. Inspired by a thread from narutoforum I read once where basically everyone was saying that Neji would own Shino...geez these kids...haha.  
  
Terimaru( Oh heck yeah, no doubt. Shino owns everybody! Haha.  
  
CellCloneBot( Ah, actual constructive criticism. Thanks, yeah, I guess I really did make Shino a little too strong with that move, and yes I could have said it was because of the investment of chakra in his bugs (I was thinking about doing this), but in the end, I wanted to give Shino new uses for his bugs and what better technique to imitate than that of Gaara's ultimate defense eh? Thanks all the same, and your team eight: bugs fic is cool. Sorry if I accidentally rip stuff from your story, I read your stuff whenever it comes out and sometimes things you say about him just registers and I assume its from the manga. I don't think I've done it yet, but feel free to call me on it if I ever do. And one last thing, you have a thing for puns huh? Good call on that one tho, didn't think anyone would catch it.  
  
Lacey Parker( Thanks for finally assuring me that his name hasn't been released yet! Geez, I was pretty sure that was the case, but I wanted to be sure.  
  
Nara Shikamaru( Thanks for your input, I actually valued it a lot. You basically already understand why I downsized Neji's powers, I realize his strength, but this is a Shino fic not a Neji one. Further than this...well, I was tired and running out of time so I just finished it up quick. I could have extended the fight and been more accurate, but again, I wanted to stress Shino's power and, I was a little lazy too.  
  
Key: "" is talking '' is thinking  
  
Chapter 3: Within the Aburame Hive  
  
The Aburame clan household was far removed from the actual village, edging just within the village walls. It was cloaked in a seemingly endless fog and buzzed with deafening silence. There was a never-ending feel of discomfort and nearly unnatural quiet to the outside world: a household that was thick with unseen tension and vociferous with silent isolation. Veiled but clear, loud with stillness, this was the paradox of the Aburame Hive.  
  
The Hive was constructed as four connected hills, each capped with a small housing complex, circling a central hill, higher than the others, and mounted with a larger complex: the master hill, the shrine of the patriarchal family. Yet these buildings were not living areas, instead they were points of entrance and exit, the true Hive lay deep below the earth's surface. Deep below the surface, an intricate series of interconnected tunnels linking the five large underground housing areas (each made up of several levels gouging deeper and deeper into the earth) spanned the length of the hills. But the tunnels didn't end here. In truth they spread, like roots from a tree, into every corner of the village with small houses capping their opening for quick access to all areas of the village.  
  
Shino stepped into one of these access houses, moving to the center of the dirt-floored studio house and, without even bothering to remove his hands from the pockets of his heavy gray jacket, began to unleash his bugs. Slowly the cloud of black overflowed out of each pocket, slowly dripping down the sides of his legs and gathering at his feet. Dig. Waves of brown dirt began to spray in all directions, forming a ring of dirt hills around Shino's motionless form. Within seconds his bugs had broken through into the tunnel hidden beneath. Shino landed softly into the tunnel, 20 feet under the earth's surface, and waited for a moment as his bugs finished the job by replacing the dirt and concealing the hole. The light from the outside world lessened into darkness and, after a small avalanche of bugs landed cleanly into the wide neck of his jacket and quickly scrambled back into their human home.  
  
The trek into the underground Aburame compound was a relatively short one and Shino was passing through the complex gates within minutes. The Aburame are a quiet people and his entrance, though noticed, received no particular response until he reached the central home, his home, the residence of his father.  
  
"Your bugs, did you retrieve them all?" His father's voice questioned, dropping lightly down into Shino's level from the one above. Shino nodded. "Good, we have a mission," his father stated plainly, turning to return to his private level above.  
  
"I have a mission with you, father?" Shino asked, the slight deviance in his voice signifying his shock.  
  
"Yes, we leave, the scroll is in your quarters, we leave tomorrow." Without another word the bugs formed around the man feet, lifting him up through the hole in the ceiling into his private abode. Shino moved slowly toward his level of the home, beneath that of his grandsire's and sire's and above those of his younger brothers: the third male in line. His mother and grandmother held residence in the levels of his grandfather and father, but. The naming of their home as the Aburame Hive was more of ancient tradition than truth, for no queen ruled this hive; males held dominance in this clan. And theirs was the most powerful of all, the overlords of the Konoha Aburame shinobi. Shino slipped quietly into the thankful solitudes of his own quarters. The space was large, vastly empty, and the walls were lined with cases for the different tribes of destruction bugs he amassed, not cases of entrapment, but cases of housing. Someday, when with the expanse of his chakra and his control increased, these too would join his legions.  
  
The scroll his father had spoken of lied on the great chest beside his bed. His hand began to remove from his left pocket but, with a wince of pain, replaced itself again, sending bugs to do its work instead. Shino's arm and body ached from Neji's attack, despite its inability to close his tenketsu points, the sheer physical force of Neji's strikes coursed pain through Shino's figure. The Hyuuga were known for their ability to decimate the organs with their Jyuken (gentle hands) taijutsu techniques, but the physical strength of Neji's 64-hit tenketsu combo was shocking. 'Not only does he attack your chakra, but he aims to attack your actual body with that technique as well,' Shino noted, wincing again in pain. He regulated himself, adjusting to the pains and returning his temperament to its normally unruffled appearance. His father had already once witnessed him weakened to such a state as to discharge his bugs and an unveiling of such weakness twice would be highly detrimental. His father cared about him, Shino knew, but the strength of the clan was necessary to maintain and weakness in the Prince of Bugs could not be accepted.  
  
A flurry of bugs, formulated into two extra arms extended from Shino's body, gripping the scroll and unrolling it into clear vision before him. The wording of the official decree was clear, concise, filled with only the necessary statistics and information for the mission.  
  
"There has been a developing unrest in the northwestern corner of our fire country in the small border village of Tetsura. This is an economic focal point in that it lies as the single formal gate between nations. Recently, it has been reported that a faction of shinobi raiders have effectively halted the transport of necessary goods in this sector and their actions need to be terminated for the continued prosperity of the fire country. The speed of their movements require shinobi with strong tracking abilities so we call two from the Aburame clan to uptake this mission. We cannot exceed this limit because of the current strain on manpower. We leave the election of these two up to the master of the Aburame clan. Mission rank: B."  
  
Shino smiled slightly, not what any normal being would consider a smile, but a smile amongst his people. His father had chosen him, amongst all of the other shinobi of his clan, he was chosen to accompany his father. His abilities were deemed worthy to stand beside his father's. He would, of course, never mention his pleasure in this selection, but it here, in the solitude of his quarters, he reveled in the reception of his father's silent confidence. He straightened slightly, naturally from a sudden burst of pride, but crumpled again at the activation of his continuing sores. Shino rubbed ruefully, considering the healing abilities of his father's bugs. '"Don't move, I'm sending my bugs to draw out the poison..."' What gave his father such powers? The power to draw poison, to heal wounds, the strength of regeneration. Shino held his hand before him, calling a single destruction bug to his palm. Did he use these standard destruction bugs or some kind of mutant destruction bug clan, like his own scout bugs? 'What is your secret father?' His father held his secrets, the Aburame did not share their tactics nor the abilities that they held. Even amongst their own ranks, their own family, abilities were learned, created, earned, never given. Shino settled himself lightly, taking a seat on his bed, his mind tracing into the banks of his memory, behind shades and eyes, his mind searched frantically. He ran the scene with his father over and over, hoping to recall even a glance of the bugs his father had used for his healing. His body had been weakened to a paralytic state and as such his vision of the bug couldn't have possibly been clear, but he only needed a glimpse. He sighed slightly, lying back, there had been no picture. His broken form had been unable to even gather the strength to lift his head to take note of his father's bugs. Even if he had, his vision was blurred and most of his senses dulled by his weakness. All he had been able to feel was the light touch of the line of bugs across his skin. But then, it wasn't a light touch, in fact, it was heavy, unnaturally so.  
  
Shino sat up, reflecting carefully at the touch of these bugs upon his skin, calculating their weight in his mind. They were nearly double the weight of his own bugs, and with each step, there had been a slight twinge, nearly unnoticeable save to his own accentuated senses. Naturally his father's matured bugs would carry heavier weight than his own, but the difference should not exceed even an increase of one fourth. This twinge, whatever it had been, signified the extra weight, and this twinge was something familiar. Another jerk of soreness shot through Neji's 64 points. 'That's it, the touch of chakra.' His father's bugs had been loaded with it, so much that it even emitted slightly through the movement of their feet.  
  
The rest was easy, the weight was clearly within the spectrum of a normal destruction bug, simply one overwhelmingly engulfed in chakra. The interior movements of these bugs were simple to track, the bulk of his own bugs having been drained away. Gathering a small troop of bugs in his right hand, Shino shut his eyes, concentrating intently on directing the little chakra reserves he maintained first to his hand and then into his bugs. He breathed heavily, drained from the removal of the little chakra he had not invested in the feeding of his bugs. But a satisfied smirk graced his features as he looked down at his hand, the bulk of bugs each glowing slightly blue.  
  
'In. To my muscles, concentrate the emission of your chakra onto the 64 tenketsu point areas.' The bugs scurried quickly into Shino's body, speedily unloading their deliveries into each commanded area before scuttling into the internal bug community. Shino stretched, testing his body for the pain he had felt only moments ago. It was gone, cleared of any sores or bruises, as a perfect specimen, untainted by injury of any kind. Satisfied, Shino lifted to his feet, he could feel his strength growing, his power expanding. It glistened and tingled inside of him, this new-found force.  
  
He slowly moved over to the bug housing case closest to his bed, a few steps to the right. Shino glanced through the glass exterior, watching his prized bugs: the Monarch Destruction Bugs. Their size was double that of his standard-sized destruction bugs, are their dominance was clearly evident. Three heavy crown-like horns protruded their hefty armor-like exterior skeleton just above the eyes and their movements were noticeably faster than that of the standard bugs that enveloped his body's interior. Shino looked thoughtfully at these great beasts of battle, even reaching his hand out to try and draw one's attention and submit them under his control, before recoiling his hand back, realizing the great lack of chakra gracing his body. He couldn't support them, strong though they were, without greater tracts of chakra it was best to maintain his current overflow of common destruction bugs. He turned his attention again on the master bugs. The one he had reached his hand toward, a large, steely black behemoth with a great central horn flanked by two moderately sized side horns, charged powerfully toward another, one easily competing with him as superiors in largeness and strength amongst their clan. The stretch of this other bugs horn wasn't nearly as extensive as his attacking adversary, but his size dwarfed his opponent, and a long scar along its armor-plated back signified the experience of battle he had achieved. He brushed aside the long-horned attacker with a quick sweep of his head, tapping the other's long appendages and effectively eliminating all sense of balance in the foolhardy charge. Tumbling for a second, it quickly regained its footing and again charged toward his enemy, blinded by rage. Again his foe slammed his rash enemy aside with a swift sweep, again upending the smaller bug and tossing him lazily aside. Another charge was mounted, another sweep administered, and the long-horned bug again sprawled against the ground.  
  
Shino's eyes, glued inseparably from the bout, followed the bug as it rose again to its feet. 'He will end the battle now, the smaller warrior.' Yet again the smaller beast mounted his charge, his larger rival again readied himself for the same defensive response. He swept, as he had before, forcefully, so as to upend his enemy, but this time, the air whistled as his horn tore through it, its course unaltered by its desired target. The attacker was inches from the sweep, its horn planted deeply within the dirt below, the full momentum of his body swinging forward. With a shattering thud, his hardened frame crunched onto his unsuspecting opponents back, flattening it with the impact, temporarily paralyzed from the quick expulsion of air. Taking this moment of unavoidable pause, the smaller insect slammed its powerful horn into his adversary, cracking heftily into its armored side and crunching its body against the case wall. The victor sauntered off, his clan surrounding him, obviously the unrequited leader of the tribe. His opponent cringed, his body would recover, but his position was lost as was his pride.  
  
Shino simpered slightly, satisfied, turning from the case and lying again onto his bed. 'The determination of the eyes portrayed his victory before it had even occurred. Drive of that kind cannot be combated, regardless of odds.' He noted, storing the information deep within the seemingly endless filings of his mind. Slowly he eyes darkened behind his dark sunglasses, eliminating the remaining light that his shades did not filter, and slowly fell into sleep. Sleep for the body, rest for strained limbs, but not for the mind. No, the complexities of his mind were infinite, their fabled workings never rested.  
  
Author's Notes Continued: Yeah I realize that this was kinda a slow chapter (kinda sad after all the time between chapters, but I didn't have any time to write this and basically wrote it all in the last...hour or so) and he doesn't fight anyone new, but I thought that it needed an intermediary chapter between his fight with Neji and his beginning of his mission with his father. 


	4. Of Princes and Paupers

Disclaimer: As unfortunate as it may be, I do not own Naruto.  
  
Key: "" is talking '' is thinking  
  
Author's notes: Yeah, my bad this took frickin' forever to get out. In my defense, I did break my nose this last week and have been massively loaded down with tests and whatnot, so yeah. Hopefully I'll pop out a couple extra chapters in the next few weeks to make up for it ok? Haha, then again, I doubt that many people read this in the first place to care enough, but whatever. Oh yeah, this one has some blood just to tell you if any of you might be offended. And if you're Japanese, I'm not so I'm sorry if I butchered the language in the creation of a few new techniques. Everything I put is directly from some English-Japanese online dictionary.  
  
Terimaru-- Thanks, I just figured their housing should somewhat match who they are and their connection to bugs and such. And yeah, after reading some comments from before, I figured that I didn't give Neji his due so I added that in there.  
  
CellCloneBot-- What a guy this one. Updating so often, much appreciated cause I do read your fic whenever its updated. Now if I could just get myself motivated to write more...haha. But yeah, thanks for the comment. Always appreciative of another fic author's approval.  
  
Chapter 4: Of Princes and Paupers  
  
The woods rung with deafening silence as father and son trudged in auditory isolation. Words were an unnecessary distraction and a pointless use of attention. Every ounce of their unnaturally keen senses were completely and totally devoted to the imminent dangers as they neared their destination. There was an eerie chill engulfing the entire forest, Shino sensed it upon their entry, and his father undoubtedly felt it long before. The taste of the air was different, abnormal, perverted, no, tainted. It was all far too quiet, and the feel of the world, captured within this microcosm of wood and leaves, a forced silence, one unappreciable and uncomfortable even for the ever-hushed Aburame people. The faces and figures of the two remained pasted with unrelinquished calm, but their eyes, hidden behind the protective barriers of their black sunglasses, betrayed their anxiety. They darted speedily, ensnaring any and all information around them. Shino had already sent his scout bugs far ahead of him, yet nothing, even in their powerful gaze, could be found.  
  
Sensing an increase in the silence, Shino glanced over to his side. His eyes returned to the path, his father had disappeared: Shino was to be the bait. A single walking figure was far less foreboding than two, and though their trackers must have realized his father's disappearance, sensing his movements were an impossibility and a bait of a single, solitary genin shinobi was far too great of a temptation. Shino walked on. 'It doesn't matter,' he thought, 'my power far surpasses my appearance, and even my father misjudges my strength.' His father's gamble proved correct; his bait was far too enticing. Within minutes they appeared, clad in hood and cloak, twenty figures materialized as if from nothing, creating a ring around the boy.  
  
"You must be the shinobi sent by the the Hidden Village of Leaf to deal with us," a man, slightly larger than the rest, the obvious leader, noted, stepping forward. Shino studied the man. He had pushed back his hood, revealing a dark-haired grotesquery that was his face. His eyes were sheltered with a pair of dark sunglasses and surrounded by scars and cuts. "We've known of your coming, allow me to introduce myself. Hogosha Suzukaze." His deep, harsh voice echoed powerfully through the trees with force of its own. "I cannot allow you to halt or economic embargo, my master would be angered. So, prepare for battle, dark tool of the government!" With the cessation of his words the air was filled with the metallic glint of shurikens. Their force, some cutting deeply into the dirt earth below, raised a cloud of dirt and dust. The ring shrunk back within the safety of their hoods. Slowly the cloud cleared, revealing a floor of shimmering metal interspersed by Shino's familiar dark swarm. "What? An Aburam..."  
  
"It seems that you have killed 20 of my bugs, such a crime cannot be left unpunished!" Shino's voice called from above, advancing with increasing intensity. The crowd looked above them to see the falling boy, towers of black bugs stretching from every limb, slowing his dissent. The insects remaining below the huddle of shurikens burst from their hiding, engulfing two of the unfortunate hooded attackers. Their screams were muffled by the unsightly horde pouring into their open mouths. "They do their work best from within, closer to your true supply of chakra." The others, finally regaining their composure, charged toward Shino, pulling katanas from within the folds of their cloaks. The first to reach Shino's fixed form felt the grasp of a great hand of bugs, materializing as an extension of his own hand. With a single movement, the man went hurling into the charging crowd, ultimately toppling three other men. With blinding speed he released, appearing suddenly directly before another man, fist firmly engraved into his shattered chest. With a powerful lift, he pulled the man off of the ground, over his head, and crunched him painfully into an attacker from behind. 'Enough of this. Bugs, to my hand! I'll finish them with a move I adapted from Neji. Kurogane Konchuu Mari Kaiten!' His hordes of black beasts scurried to his hands, hovering just above, packing their bodies together and compressing into two massive, metallic, balls, one above each hand. As his two balls of destruction formed, Shino dealt with his attackers with his legs, keeping them all a fair distance away. When the final bug was set in place, Shino's eyes gleamed, visible even through his dark shades. Arms extended to his sides he pulled in slightly, then released forcefully outward, propelling the two balls of heavily compressed bugs with shocking velocity toward his first two unfortunate victims. They screeched painfully, knocked fully back by the power of the strike. A long, thick chain of bugs connected ball to hand, like two living maces, harder and stronger than any true weapon. Upon the first strike Shino's body began to spin, increasing in speed, arms still extended. His bug balls followed this motion, slicing through the air with increasing speed and power, mowing down man and tree in its wake. Screams following sickening cracks as, with each revolution, the attack grew in strength, viciously crushing and shattering all within its radius of demolition. As the final hooded attacker fell, ribs crushed behind the impact of the blow, Shino's spinning form finally began to halt. Slowly the bug balls contracted, regaining its size as it pulled slowly in toward his hands. The bodies of his enemies littered the ground, alive, but groaning painfully at their shattered forms.  
  
Unexpectedly, there was a blow from behind, a powerful strike to the back of his head. Disoriented by the speed of his spin, Shino couldn't possibly have sensed the attack. 'I missed one?' His body flew to the floor, buffeted only by the groaning form of one of his defeated foe. 'It must be that Hogosha Suzukaze.' Shino winced painfully. 'I lack the necessary control of my orientation provided by the Byakugan to fully regain my senses after that attack like Neji.' Shino noted, suddenly glimmering with new respect for his former opponent. 'If Suzukaze had been an equal adversary, I would not stand again.' Despite this, Shino struggled to his feet, using his bugs to right his position. Suzukaze had discarded his hood and cloak, revealing the gargantuan beast of a man beneath. His body was strapped with muscle and sinew and he stood a full foot above Shino. Two belts covered his otherwise bare chest. His dark blond hair hung scrounged in a ponytail behind his head, and his eyes seethed with a desire for battle. A heavy silver chain hung from his bulging neck, and it bounced before him as he moved.  
  
The larger man circled him, Suzukaze, brandishing a heavy golden shield of sorts, seemingly melted around his fist before widening into a true shield above his forearm before decreasing to a point just above his shoulder, while Shino stood calmly, hands in pockets. As the sun disappeared and the sky darkened, hidden behind cloud and tree, Suzukaze vaulted into attack. With a screech, Suzukaze plunged his metallic fist toward his enemy, only to strike air and feel a smooth sweep dislodge his footing. The King of Bugs watched his young son battle below. He was firmly implanted at the top of the highest oak tree, watching as his son struggled below. 'Shino, you depend too much on your mimicry. You have not the specific strength of others to perform their attacks as your own.' A whistle through the trees below caught his attention and he lifted his eyes from the bout. 'This shall test you. Hurry Shino, a true enemy approaches, one not to be taken as lightly as this.' His eyes refocused on the battle, watching as his son was tossed easily aside by a single swipe of Suzukaze's fist.  
  
Dirt and rock spewed from beneath his feet as Shino worked to regain his footing after the blow. The strength of his enemy's attacks were impressive, but they were nothing to his own abilities. His battling had shown the rust and dulling created by the long absence of bugs from his body. What he had successfully hidden from Neji through manipulation of Neji's drive and blind desire was revealed here in full: he was still weakened and uncomfortable in his control of his bugs. Shino cringed within, he had chosen far too many bugs the night before their departure. They overfilled his body and limited his control. He had managed to release some throughout his heavy bug emitting attacks in the battle, but they still slowed his movements and stunted his management.  
  
"You can't daydream here boy! Jishin no Jutsu!" The man called, forming a few hand seals before powdering his golden fist into the earth. A powerful shockwave of chakra swept toward Shino, cracking the ground in its trail. Shino dodged easily, pushing off of the ground with a pillar of bugs and vaulting high into the air above. "It's over boy! You're finished!" The ape of a man called, slicing through the air himself, iron fist forward. 'Its over, he can't change directions or dodge my attack in midair.' "Experience the power of Hogosha!" His eyes altered here, uncomfortable with the calm silence of his enemy, he caught vision of Shino's right hand, partially hidden behind his body. Another large black ball had formed in his hand. 'Another Kurogane Konchuu Mari Kaiten?' "I see your attack!" He called confidently, switching his stance midair from attack to defense, covering his head and torso with his great shield.  
  
'Kurogane Konchuu Mari Tsuppari.'  
  
The destruction ball flew again, as before, with penetrating speed toward the man, but Shino entered no spin as he had before. The focus of this attack was the thrust, and all of the power came behind the strength of this thrust. The ball and the shield collided, shattering the shield and piercing through the man's forearm. His hand fell to the ground, completely severed from his arm. No drop of blood fell as Shino's ball dissipated into his bug chain, widening it and immediately lodging itself into the hole. Not even a scream could emit from the large man's form, so frozen in shock and pain was he.  
  
"Your actions are detrimental to the livelihood of the entire fire country. This city is a critical economic center and the embargo you have placed on it hurts many people throughout its borders. I have stopped your bleeding, for now, tell me where I can find your master."  
  
"Suzukaze you fool," a voice uttered from within the woods. "The eternal protectors of my clan huh? Pitiful, you're weaker than me!" Shino lifted his gaze to see another hooded and cloaked entity approached. But this one was different, smaller, slighter in build, but tainted by blood and death. She, for her voice betrayed her gender, was far more dangerous than the man cringing on the floor before him. "I should kill you myself for your weakness." The chain on Suzukaze's neck began to shrink, enclosing dangerously around his neck. But it was no silver chain at all, instead, white destruction bugs, connected together, slowly closing in. They halted temporarily. The men Shino had toppled earlier began to struggle to their feet in this girl's presence, she being obviously someone of importance and significance to them.  
  
"Mistress Suzume! We apologize for our weakness. This is the shinobi sent from the Hidden Village of Leaf. He is powerful, we were no match for him." One man reported dutifully.  
  
"Powerful? He is weak to be challenged so much by the likes of Suzukaze. However, this attack of his is quiet intriguing indeed. Using the iron- like exterior skeleton of the destruction bugs, compressed closely together to form mace-like attack weapons, quite impressive indeed. But it has one weakness." The girl taunted, walking closer to Shino and Suzukaze. "And I'm sure your father hidden on the top of this tree will agree with me Aburame Shino." At this, the King of Bugs was taken aback. 'Who is this girl to have sensed even me, and in such a specific description...?' "The chain!" With these words, Suzume's hand plunged into the iron-hard chain of bugs, severing it in two and dispersing all of its bugs back into Shino's large sleeves. Her face slid forward a little upon this strike, revealing a pair of sunglasses below. Suzukaze screamed in pain as blood gushed forward, but he and the other men were dismissed away, disappearing into the wooden depths. "They call you the Prince of Bugs master Shino, a genius of the art of destruction bug combat, yet this boy before me is weak: more of a pauper than a prince. You have no idea from what weakened roots you truly derive." She moved back, her face completely hidden within the shadows of her hood and her body immersed within the steel-like protection of her cloak. It covered her body so completely that not even her form could be determined beneath. It stood, draped from shoulder to floor, her dark mask. Even her movements seemed non-human, gliding across the forest floor with barely a swish of her long cloak. Behind opposing shades of darkness, two combatants eyed their adversaries. 


	5. Light and Dark, Aburame Successors Clash

Disclaimer: As unfortunate as it may be, I do not own Naruto.  
  
Key: "" is talking '' is thinking  
  
Author's notes: Ah...its so sad, nobody even reads this thing. But that's really ok, cause I write for me and whatever input anyone gives is just extra I guess. Owell, another chapter and I'll go through my couple of shoutouts...considering that its so few people anyway...hah.  
  
Magicalfoci: ah, my only commentator for this last chapter...so sad...but thanks all the same! Haha, your entry was so full of energy...geez, probably more energy that I put into my fic...haha. Yeah, I was thinking about some sharingan eyes...but I think that is something you just can't take away from the uchiha clan...no worries, though sharingan there may not be, other powers may lurk behind those "shades of darkness"  
  
Chapter 5: Light and Dark, Aburame Successors Clash  
  
The winds rained heavily down upon the two combatants, their eyes focused, unwavering, upon only their rival. Shino's mind ticked and grinded, calculating, evaluating his opponent's strength. His bugs shivered powerfully. Her chakra emission was strong, much like Neji's had been. But she was no Hyuuga; no, there was no doubt as to her Aburame origins. Her control over Suzukaze's white destruction bug necklace showed that undeniably. But the sheer amount of her chakra could not be possible had her entire body been devoted to destruction bugs. 'She must be a renegade Aburame. One of the Limited Konchuu Aburame clan deserters I have heard of. Traitors to the Aburame tradition, they purposely allow the bulk of their destruction bugs to dissipate, freeing their chakra for standard use, but keeping just enough to utilize the unique abilities of the bugs. She couldn't have more than a handful of bugs, with this kind of free chakra. What kind of techniques can she perform with such a limited force? Right, a direct attack, using the shielding strength of my bugs' skeletal solidity should overwhelm her lack of bugs. Her ninjutsu won't work against the steel-like bodies of my bugs and she won't be able to defend using so limited a number of bugs. Dyuaru Kurogane Konchuu Mari Tsuppari!' As before, both of his hands filled with the gathering of his dark insects, when his ball of destruction was sufficiently large, Shino pulled back and unleashed the ball, traveling at incomparable speeds, hurtling toward his cloaked enemy. The dark figure disappeared instantly, darting into the skies above Shino with admirable velocity. 'Perfect. Without the aided weight of extra bugs, her speed was expectedly high. But in the air her speed is useless. Kurogane Konchuu Mari Somasshu!' Shino closed his hands together, his huge chains and maces following suit, combining into a massive monstrosity. With one powerful upward movement, his weapon sliced skyward, faster and more powerful than before, directly at his falling enemy. A brilliant flash of blue blinded Shino's vision. Despite his protective sunglasses, he could withstand the sheer intensity of the happenings above him. His bug mace fell powerfully to the forest floor, deflected completely to its original location. The trees shook with the force of the impact and a crater opened beneath his great gathering of bugs. His enemy landed lightly on the ground opposite, unscathed and without any sign of tire. 'I see. She emitted incredible amounts of chakra from her feet, changing both the direction of my bug mace as well as her own movements. To release that kind of chakra is amazing in itself, but she has done so without tiring in the least.' His giant weapon tore across the forest floor again, this time as a horizontal swing, decimating the floor beneath as it traveled. Again the cloaked demon disappeared, easily evading the attack.  
  
"Too slow oh great Prince of Bugs! The end is near!" She taunted, appearing balanced calmly on Shino's great mace.  
  
'She dodges my attacks with such ease, and without use of kaiwarimi at all. Is her speed truly this great? It nears, no, overwhelms that of Sasuke and Lee...' Shino's thoughts were cut short as the cloak began to move again, this time in an attack, slicing through the air with Shino's own bug chain underfoot. 'Dissipate.' The dark insects immediately broke their bonds, scattering in all directions. Her movement continued, now across the floor, kunai drawn, charging toward her enemy. Her blade engrained deeply within Shino's chest, shattering the bug clone into a heap on the floor. Shino appeared behind her, a kunai of his own brandished in his hand. The blade flew from his hand, carving through the resistance of the air directly for its target. Suzume moved a single arm, allowing the blade to fly directly through the folds of her cloak, thudding within the hard surface beneath.  
  
"Your attack speed is pathetically slow; your kind doesn't deserve the Aburame title."  
  
"A renegade Aburame like yourself cannot possibly defeat me. My bugs with eat through your traitorous heart!" Shino paused for breath, his air stream seemingly unnaturally strained. "Besides, that strike to your side will leave a trail of blood for the remainder of this battle. Regardless of your speed, you will be slowed by the injury and my vision of your movements will be improved by the lines of red across the air and floor. You're finished."  
  
"Renegade?? Have your rebellious minds been diluted to such an extent as to have forgotten the history of our clan? I am no traitor; it is you who have abandoned your people! Ask your father." Her temperament cooled as she continued. She shrugged carelessly, "It's a small price to pay, the strike by your kunai that is, considering the damages you've sustained for it."  
  
'Damages? I haven't sustained any injuries in this bout. If anything, I'm stronger with the interior workings of my healing bugs, though my neck does feel constricted.' He rubbed his neck ruefully, trying to eliminate its clamping feeling. Shino's eyes widened. His hand, tainted with the stain and odor of his own blood, returned to his pocket. Hastily he returned his demeanor to one of unshakable calm. Glancing up again at his nemesis he saw her pawing a pure white kunai, the end dripping with the blood from his neck. From her other arm, a band of white destruction bugs carried out his own kunai, completely clean of any blood or marking.  
  
"How? You traitorous Aburame are weak. Your speed is pitiable. Did you truly believe that your dismal attack surprised me? Or that you had the velocity to combat my own dazzling speed? You fool, before you even launched your attack I had circled your position and sliced at your throat all the way around. Your throat was lessened and your airway has been reduced by an eighth. You can still breath, but your stamina and speed are now even more deplorable than they were before." She took a deep breath, sucking in the air greedily, taunting his gasping form. Her explanation continued. "Upon the 14th year of the swarm's containment within a host they cocoon for a week, sprouting to reveal wings. Their speed with their wings double, and, as they are now, contained within my body in great quantity, I control their movements within myself and take their speed for my own. My speed eclipses that of any gravity-bound shinobi. Your life continues only because of my mercy. But feel again great Prince!" She mocked, a smirk thinning across her face.  
  
Slowly Shino's hand came to his neck. The blood was gone as was the cut. In its place was a chain, pure, vibrantly white silver, encrusted within the line of the cut, blocking the blood from spilling. His eyebrows lifted and eyes doubled with reflex-like reaction. Shino glanced again at the white kunai in his opponent's hand, then to it's owner's face. Another devilish smirk spread across her lips and an evil wink sealed the truth. The tip of the kunai was completely gone and, with a snap of her fingers, the entire kunai dissolved into a mass of white bugs within her hand. 'These are...her white destruction bugs...the same chain as the one on Suzukaze's throat.' Something cold crept into his body, something alien and dark. 'What is this feeling? I...fear her.' He shook his head violently, trying in a feeble effort to eradicate the emotion. 'She's still human, and if I halt her movements, she will fall as any others would.' A slight buzz shivered through his body, moving noticeably toward his feet. 'But first, for this chain.' His hands moved toward the glimmering chain of white destruction bugs, his own black bugs, legs tipped with chakra, engulfing both hands. Suzume eyes followed his movements.  
  
"You fool! Your carelessness will be your downfall! The bugs on your neck are not the true threat, you're finished!" She charged forward with her blinding speed, a swarm of white surrounding her cloaked frame and stretching to the very limits of Shino's vision. This great wave of white thundered, crushing tree and ground in its wake, toward Shino's motionless form. "I am no renegade Aburame. Feel the wraith of the totality of my bugs! Die Prince!"  
  
Crack! The attack faltered, gasped, and halted, falling only feet away from it's target. The wave of white likewise diminished, falling to the floor with the sudden and unexpected pause. Suzume, face (revealed by the unsettling of her hood upon her fall), drenched in sweat and contorted by pain, turned to her left leg, twisted unnaturally behind her. Despite the anger and pain saturating her features, her beauty shimmered noticeably through the sweat and dirt littering her face. Her creamy white complexion shined with inner radiance and her long brunette locks framed her face perfectly. And there was something bright behind her dark sunglasses, unable to be hidden by the protective coverings was the bright depth of the eyes below. Her small nose and surprisingly small mouth completed the vision. The sun glittered against her sweat drenched face for a second before its pervasive rays were effectively blotched out by two dark swarms approaching from above and before her.  
  
"Dammit!" She cursed, slamming her fist against the floor. 'I see, that buzz through his body was actually the movement of a troop of his destruction bugs to his feet. They burrowed beneath me and caught my leg in mid-charge. No wonder its broken like this. Impressive, his control is impeccable to keep his mind calm enough to launch his attack with my impending all-out attack. Perhaps I underestimated him. But he underestimates me as well!' "Konchuu Shouheki no jutsu!"  
  
Instantly four walls of white formed around her shaping a protective pyramid around her body. Black and white bugs of destruction met, clashing cataclysmically together, their masters' determination and heart engrained into the blow. In seconds, the air filled with speckles of black and white, both attack and defense crushed and dissolved by the force.  
  
'Incredible power by use of his bug compression maneuver...'  
  
'Amazing combination technique, reinforcing and binding together her wall of destruction bugs with chakra...'  
  
Shaking off their admiration, the two combatants struggled to their feet. "The force of our bugs seems equal, but my defense served its purpose!" The white insect manipulator squealed, tearing off the remainders of her tattered cloak revealing a light white trench coat, belted at the waist, covering a black shirt and skirt beneath. Her formerly shattered leg returned comfortably to its normal location. "Thank you for showing me your regeneration technique when you tried to remove my chain by healing your neck, it was quite useful to me." Shino's shock remained dormant beneath his heavy dark sunglasses.  
"Good," Shino responded calmly, "it would only be fitting for you to be near full-strength to witness my shift to the offensive!" His hands, filled with and array of kunais and shurikens, flashed twice, unleashing a host of metallic fury.  
  
'Impossible! His movements are faster than before! Suzume thought, barely dodging the assault. Regardless, his bugs must be drained and weakened for him to revert to such a menial tactic. Mine are as well.' A grin crossed her features as she dodged the final shuriken. 'My abilities, however, are not as limited as his!' "Mizu Bunshin no jutsu!" Dew, gathered from the trees and ground, jetted toward the girl, smashing into the ground on either side of her, slowly forming into mere images of herself. "Attack him my water clones!" The two charged, there speed far less than their maker's, but still considerable, moving toward Shino, kunais drawn. Shino, drawing two more new kunai, charged toward the pair, reaching them and thrusting his two blades deep into their chests. The clones sustained for a second, the kunais sinking into their bodies, then an explosion of water and bugs. 'What is this? His kunai were made of bugs?' Realization of her error rushed upon Suzume, but it was too late. The kunai and shurikens she had dodged just seconds before thudded powerfully into her back, embedding holes into her skin before separating into Shino's familiar black bugs on her back. The girl crumpled to the floor. 'Because they were his bugs he could control them. He must have purposefully aimed to ricochet them off of trees so that they could make another attack from behind. What a guy...'  
  
'Into the holes.' Streams of dark bugs poured into the holes their joint forms had just created. Suzume screamed painfully at their infestation. "This is now a battle within yourself Suzume. Summon your bugs within to do combat with my own or be overrun." Shino stated all too coolly.  
  
'He's right, I know he is. I must deal with this quickly, the longer this battle drags on the stronger he seems to become. Somehow his speed has increased remarkably, regardless of my collar. With each passing turn he more accurately predicts my strategies and counters perfectly. His ability to read my maneuvers is unhuman. I'll arm my bugs with extra chakra to finish this quickly.' Her hands clasped and her eyes shut, concentrating completely on the internalizing of her chakra. It was seconds after her eyes initially shut that she again realized her horrid miscalculation. Her eyes snapped open just as Shino's fist crunched powerfully into her stomach, sending her sprawling across the ground. She lied motionless, smashed directly into the pearly white bark of a tree.  
  
Shino slid toward his unmoving rival, drawing his bugs out of her immobile form. 'I didn't mean to kill you. You were a powerful opponent, the greatest I have ever faced. You also shared my Aburame heritage, despite our separate paths.' He thought apologetically. 'I hadn't seen that tree at all.' He pondered. 'I was almost sure that I had directed the blow toward the stack of kunai from the attack of Suzukaze's men...' He spun around, searching for the stack of weaponry. Suddenly shock reentered his mind. He coughed painfully and drew his hands to his neck as the chain tightened painfully nearer. So strong was its grip that with its turning his entire body turned in response. His body, paralyzed by the sharp pressure against his spine, lied limp, helpless against the collar. Slowly his body began to lift from the floor. He gagged, the grip cutting deeply into his throat, with each passing second slowly breaking his neck. His bugs quickly came to his aid, forming a footing beneath him to prevent his hanging. As if angered, the suffocating grip of the chain tightened even more, in effect making up for the removal of gravity as a death dealing force. His eyes watched as the large white tree his nemesis had fatally crashed into dissolved first into a familiar pile of kunai, then dispersing into their true form: the hateful white destruction bugs.  
  
And there she stood, an aura of smugness surrounding her injured but proudly upheld body. Her fifteen-year-old face brimmed with impish satisfaction, gleaming victoriously at her struggling enemy. Her hand went over her stomach, bruised and battered from the sheer force of the blow, and her back was speckled with dots of white where her bugs blocked the spill of blood from her many unwanted injections. Her left hand was outstretched, obviously controlling the tightening grip of her bug collar pressing deeply into Shino's neck.  
  
"And so falls the Prince of Bugs..." she croaked dangerously, slowly closing her hand into a fist; but something halted her, some force fought against the press of her hand. She glanced into her palm revealing a handful of black: Shino's bugs feebly attempting to protect their master from a vicious death. She shook at them violently, finally detaching their grip from her hand only to find another troop of black terror, fresh and strong, glued on in substitution. In seconds it was not only her hand, but her arm, then her chest and stomach. 'How could they have reached me without my sensing their presence?!?' She questioned, her mind rushing into a panic. Her eyes returned to her foe. He continued to struggle, gagging and choking against the pressure of her chain, and he remained implanted on his pillar of destruction bugs, preventing his hanging. But there was something different, something altered. 'Too close to the ground! That fool lowered his own tower of bugs, straining his neck more, just to allow the excess bugs to tunnel beneath me again!' She whirled around, by this time struggling to move as the bugs overwhelmed a good half of her body. Behind her was a small hole and a jet of black buzzing upward, silently inching itself throughout her body. 'No matter! His bugs will stop when his mind does and his mind cannot give orders if it is detached from his body!' Her deathly grip tightened, all the strength of her mind and attention poured into her vice-like hold.  
  
'If my bugs can reach her brain then her binding control can be broken, temporarily at least.' Shino gasped within himself, straining against the ensuing waves of unconsciousness mercilessly pummeling his psyche. The world was a blur and darkness crept infinitely closer to engulfing his entire person. 'Just a little more, must hold on a little more...' His army of insects marched forward, creeping up the neck unopposed. Suzume's complete focus rested on the slow crushing of Shino's neck by her chain of white destruction bugs, and the remainder of her bug legions stood motionless, without command, on the floor behind. 'To the nose, just a little more, the nose is a direct pass to her brain...' His line of bugs passed his enemy's lips, climbing slowly up the smooth surface of her face. Beads of sweat burned down the sides of both combatants' faces, Suzume's acting as a natural defense against the charging army, smashing like miniature tidal waves wiping out nearly half of the bugs trekking across her face. 'Just one, I only need one and I can disrupt her mind for a second, more than enough to free myself from...from...this...' The pain surged throughout his face, overwhelming even the words within his mind. Only the determined thoughts controlling the movement of his bugs remained untainted by the powerful flow of pain throughout his system. Four bugs, surviving the onslaught of sweat, tucked safely into the nose. The crushing chain slackened for a second as Suzume tried in vain to blow the bugs out. Realizing their unflappable resistance, her focuses quickly shifted again to the crushing of her rival's throat. 'A second more...'  
  
crackle  
  
The four, the remaining hope of survival, the world, fell, four tan cocoons, immobile and useless. The remainder of the bugs engulfing half of Suzume's body did the same, falling from her frame and raining down upon the ground, thousands of rock-hard, wonderfully useless cocoons, and then darkness...  
  
An all-too familiar smile stretched across Suzume's lips as she shook the helpless cocoons off of her body, twiddling the life of her adversary, her nemesis, her rival, and her equal, within the whims of her mind. 


	6. Shadows of the Past

Disclaimer: As unfortunate as it may be, I do not own Naruto.

Key: "" is talking '' is thinking

Author's notes: Wow, that was a long lay off huh? Yep, just a little bit...haha. Ok, truthfully I forgot all about this thing until I got this email from somebody that just read all the other chapters! And, in that I forgot all about this, I also kinda forgot where I was going with it. Thus, this is basically a completely new take on whatever I was going for before! Haha, if its choppy...uh, my bad.

Chapter 6: Shadows of the Past

The winds blew uncontrollably now, biting viciously into the skin left uncovered by the rips in her battle-tattered clothes. These were unnatural winds, with strength of distorted enormity. But such realizations bypassed Suzume, her eyes focused with unwavering intensity upon her hated opponent. No forces or powers could distract her from the object of her absolute scorn: this physical representation of all that she detested. The winds bellowed and whistled, trees and rocks cracking undertow, escalating with each passing second, with each tightening of Shino's bug noose. Specs of black began to appear as its instigators, filling the skies.

'_Genkaku Konchuu Teikiatsu.'_

Instantly the darkness erupted, filling the skies. Specs turned to walls, and a swirling tornado of deadly destruction bugs swept Suzume powerfully into the air. Her concentration shattered irreparably, her limp victim thudded to the floor. She, trapped within the black vortex, shook off her temporary mental paralysis and prepared herself for a counter. But no such counter came. The dark bugs closed too swiftly, clamping her arms to her sides and overwhelming her body so fully that not a single bug could escape from her many bug exuding holes throughout her body. Her arms were bound, her bug emission holes effectively clogged, and her entire range of ability rendered completely and uselessly trapped within an immobile form.

'_Dammit! This little idiot made me forget all about his father up there!' _Suzume cursed viciously under her breath. '_Its over for me,' _she thought, coughing viciously as her body reacted to her waning air, '_but at least I was able to delay and injure them for...'_ The air supply thinned further as the vortex of black overtook the last of the blue sky above. She gulped in breath painfully as darkness began to take her. She raised her head uneasily, shutting her eyes tightly and prepared to enter gracefully into death. '_I'll die in peaceful strength! Even my dead body will glow with my own vibrant light and passersby why revel at my continued grace. As a great protector of my clan and magnificent beauty I will be remembered and on my tombstone will be written...'_

thud

"Ouch!" The young girl whined, the projections of her own melancholy funeral painfully jolted from her mind. She rubbed her arm ruefully and worked herself back into a seated position. Slowly she inhaled a much-needed breath before slowly and unsurely opening her eyes to investigate her surroundings. The world around her was familiar; she was still in the woods where she had done battle with her family's nemeses. It was darker now though, the sun long since having faded beyond the trees and into the horizon. The night was dark save the moon glittering above and the warm crackle of flame in the fire before her. Her eyes adjusted and her investigation continued, narrowing angrily as she noted her captors. Across the flames sat her enemy, the boy she had defeated, calmly chewing a piece of bread propped up to his mouth by his bug army. A little further to the left from him was the father, his piercing eyes seemingly magnified through the dark sunglasses, past the waves of flames, into her very soul. She shuddered slightly stirring the attention of the boy. Slowly a quiet sliver of black bugs trickled out of an open hole in her neck and back into his sleeves. The father nodded in approval.

"Good. Shino, the healing ability of your bugs has gotten quite advanced. Her wounds are mostly healed now."

"Shut the hell up geezer! I didn't ask for your help!" Shifting her focus she attacked her former adversary with her everlasting barrage of words. "How dare you send your vile bugs into me? Come my precious white bugs! Defeat my foe!" She clenched her eyes shut again, summoning her white bugs out of her body. After a moment she stopped, shocked at the inaction. She could feel them moving easily within her, but completely unable to escape from her bug holes. She looked down, realizing that the wave of black bugs remained constricting her arms and clogging all possible holes for her bugs to escape. Even on the newly formulated hole on her neck a large Monarch bug was posted, halting all progression of her white fleet. She tried again, but to no avail, and once again, only to fail and crumple to the floor helplessly. "Release me and fight me in a real battle!" She huffed angrily, her long locks drooping across her face slightly covering her imprinted sunglasses. The two remained in silent disobedience, completely ignoring her outburst. Sulking at her captors' inattentiveness, she sat back and pouted. In the cool silence of the night her mind wandered back to the fight. The last she remembered her entire form was engulfed into a cyclone of destruction bugs, enough to completely drain her of her chakra and, inevitably, her life. "How am I even alive...?" She wondered reflectively, inadvertently voicing her thoughts aloud.

"Genkaku bugs." The man answered abruptly. On his finger crawled a black bug, much like the normal Kikai bugs, but different. True, the bulk of its body was black, but its wings and back seemed sprinkled with golden dust and, upon closer inspection, its body was slightly rounder than that of normal kikai bugs, not bigger, but rounder. "They're of the same family classification as the ordinary kikai bugs, but these are known to extract a larger amount of chakra from their host which is used for more than nourishment. They produce powders from the excess chakra that are sprinkled from their wings when they fly at high speeds." The man took a sip of the drink before him and continued. "These crystallized powders of chakra cast different genjutsu spells on whoever inhales them. Yours was a combination of a sleeping and time distortion genjutsu. You've been asleep for two weeks now, if it wasn't for the nutrients you received by the injection of our kikai bugs you would have died of starvation long ago."

"Hmph...defeated by simple illusions..." The girl groaned pitifully. "Regardless! I demand my release and I hereby take you under my custody to present to my mother the Queen. If you cooperate your deaths will not be torturous." She ordered, straightening herself up into a dignified manner.

"Oh yes, release the spider and follow her into her web..." Shino smirked under his breath.

"What was that boy?!? I'll make sure YOUR death is long and painful!"

"Not even spiders provoke predators when they are helplessly ensnared." Shino stated in controlled defiance, his kikai bugs stirring dangerously within his left hand.

"Calm yourself Shino. It's not often that you are privileged with the presence of true Aburame royalty," his father ordered, all too coolly. "Plus, we need her for information." Shino glanced questioningly at his father.

"Aburame royalty?"

"The true origins of our clan: the great bug manipulators of the Hidden Village of Grass." With another sip of his drink he continued. "Many years ago we were a part of the ace clan for the Hidden Village of Grass," He paused slightly, moving over to the girl and tugging free a green forehead protector with the Grass insignia from a flap in her cloak. "She is obviously part of the remnants of that clan and, if her mother is the queen, she is Aburame royalty, one who has most strongly inherited the Aburame bloodline limit."

'_Bloodline limit...?'_

"Then how have we become a member of the Hidden Village of Leaf?" Shino wondered aloud.

"Your traitorous ancestors deserted the village and the clan during their greatest time of need! Yours is a history of cowardice and weakness!" The girl screeched angrily, unable to contain her hatred. Shino, disturbed at this development, glanced over at his father for a rejection to such an outlandish claim. His father's head lowered, and Shino's prideful vision shattered. The girl continued, driving the painful stake of truth deeper within Shino's broken form. "During the Amato War that upended the entire scope of political balance amongst the different countries, the Hidden Village of Grass was fighting a losing battle. It had once been a strong and prosperous country with borders that spread far into what is now the land of the Fire Country and the Sand Country, but is now reduced to the despicably small size of present days. During those times, the Hidden Villages of Leaf and Sand launched a dual front attack on the Grass Country. Being the strongest clan, our forces were split between the two fronts, a mixture of Aburame royalty and peasants to lead the defense on either side. The Sand border was being upheld, but the defenses on the Leaf side, the front under my grandfather's leadership, were being slowly pushed back..."

The sky was tainted red with bloodshed and even the light of the sun dared not shine upon these dark and evil times. The large plains of grass were dyed likewise and lined with the corpses of the ninjas who had already fallen there. It was night now, and the warring had temporarily stalled as the opposing forces returned to their camps. Behind one particularly large hill lied the hastily constructed compounds of the Grass Country forces, and the tense silence of night was clearly pierced by the screeching roars from the general's tent.

"Dammit! We can't stop their advance! Curse those bastard Hyuugas and Uchihas!" The general cried, his fist cracking the table beneath him in two. Sweat tore down his tense features and anger burned through the protective coverings of his sunglasses. His maps and reports of troop movements laid scattered across the floor now, without a table for which to hold them. He crumpled to the floor, exhaustion overwhelming his strength. The flaps of his tent fluttered open and an officer walked in. The man, aged by stress, rose into proper dignity before addressing his visitor. "Report Colonel Aburame Shinta." The officer, obviously near the same age as the general, humbly obeyed the command.

"The left flank has been overwhelmed. A young Hyuuga prodigy took command there and devastated our forces."

"A Hyuuga defeated our Aburame men?!? How is that possible?!?" the general interrupted, stress and anger written plainly on his face.

"Unfortunately, our Aburame forces could not spread all the way across our flanks and the left was left under a different command so that we could shore up our defenses in the middle. Likewise, the right was taken by an Uchiha commander. His fire-based jutsus were dually effective because of the grassy terrain and easily massacred millions of bugs. The middle was upheld but those forces are now surrounded on three sides because of the fall of both flanks, it would be wise to withdraw there." The man completed his report and stood at attention, expecting an order matching to his suggestion.

"Don't forget your place you peasant scum! Regardless of your position in this army, you will respect Aburame royalty and address me correctly and without your quaint suggestions!" Anger flared into the colonel's eyes and though hidden by his dark shades, its vibrancy was obvious. As quickly as it had come it was quelled, hidden below the mounds of restraint and calloused features. Its appearance, though, was not unnoticed by his superior. "We will not withdraw from that area. It is vital to our defense! You, colonel, will reinforce it with an army of your fellow Aburame peasant brethren and you will not lose that position or it will be your head to pay! Not only will you hold the defense, you will regain the flanks we lost in today's warring by launching a counter-offensive."

"But sir! It's not possible! To hold the defense with such minimal a force would be miraculous in itself, but those lands lost cannot possibly be recaptured! You order us to our death!" The colonel protested pleadingly. His hands trembled and his voice cracked in submissive request.

"Insubordination! Get out of my sight boy! Go or die by my own hand!" The general, with his dangerous buzzing allies surfacing throughout the entire tent, pressed menacingly. A glint from his shades flashed and instantly the colonel's legs were engulfed by a wave of deadly white Monarch bugs. A snap of his finger sent the bugs to work, and, despite the screams for mercy, they evilly emptied the man's legs of all forms of chakra and life. He unwillingly crumpled to his knees, only to receive the heavy boot of the general cracking powerfully into his face, propelling him forcefully out of the tent.

He landed with a thud, a pitifully weakened form sprawled helplessly on the mossy floor outside of the general's tent. His legs had been devastatingly drained, and though time with help from his bugs would heal their wounds, his crippling extended past simple physical destruction. His faith was gone: faith in his general, faith in his country, faith in his own strength. He fought this battle for hopes of a happier life for his family, his posterity. The royalty of his clan as well as the magistrates of his country had promised some levels of equality, not complete, but to an extent of mutual respect between the two groups, between royalty and peasantry. He had battled, motivating his comrades in arms, for dreams of a new future for his son, a new order of equality, but these were never to be. He realized it now. These optimistic hopes were fleeting, and this display of aggression, the sheer snobbish superiority in the general's voice proved beyond all doubt the irrelevancy of his hopes. Regardless of his army heroics, he and his brothers would never be given the respect he hoped for. To the Aburame royalty, peasantry and nobility would never be on level, would never meet, to them, he would always be but dirt and trash to do their bidding. The heavy foot of his general against his face had emptied all of these ignorant, child-like fantasies from his mind and replaced them with reality: he could never escape from this hell of subordination or from the foot of superiority. And now he was sentenced to his death; he was a pawn to die in this game between monarchies, he fought for a power that he would never hold or feel the benefits from.

"No..."

He wouldn't die this way; his existence would not be extinguished without meaning. If he had to die, he would die for _his _family, _his_ future, and _his _ideals; his life would not be thrown away fighting simply for a country that hated him. He lied there awhile, his body motionless but his mind soaring, deciding, and convicting. Slowly he, with assistance from his dark destruction bugs, pushed himself to his feet, feeling refreshed, stronger, alive with his newfound understanding. He would not die here, like this; he and his brethren would rise and find a new order under which to live.

"Father!" A sturdy 10-year-old boy ran towards his father, his arms outstretched to support his obviously injured parent. A rather large gourd bounced heavily on his back as he sprinted toward his father's beaten form.

'_Yes, a new life for my boy, this I need to create.'_

"Are you alright father? Allow me to send my bugs to help heal your wounds."

"No no, that will not be necessary. We need to hurry back to the lines, there's a special mission we must complete."

Left alone again to contemplate his failures, the general once again sunk to his knees. '_We can't stop them. Their strength is too great.'_ His mind gasped out painfully. The pressures of the world pressed heavily down on his wearied shoulders, and he could feel them breaking.

"I can't be weak..." he breathed out, each word seeming to sap life out of his form. "I can't...lose..." His voice cracked and sweat gushed down his face. "My reputation...my clan...my family...I have to protect them all..." '_If we lose that central point it's over...we can't come back from an all-out loss of that magnitude. But he's right, it's murder to send them there. But if I lose that point, everything I have built is gone, I will be immortalized as a figure of weakness, unable to even hold a single line. No, even if we are massacred, I can't just give it up! Death is greater than a life of shame!' _His mind exhausted by the constant strain and stress, the general fell into sleep, in his position sprawled on the ground his eyes shut and his troubles drifted into that of dreams.

"GENERAL!" Instantly the quiet of sleep was shattered and, though his senses were dulled by the remnants of tire, instantly the man knew of the pressing dangers. Light tore into his tent as the flaps were pulled aside and a frantic private entered. "They've broken it! The troops from the Country of Fire are charging towards this camp at this very minute sir! They began their attack an hour ago; we need to evacuate now sir!"

"Impossible! How could they break our central defense so quickly? That area is dually enforced and this camp was specifically placed directly behind it. They couldn't have broken through it in an hour; they couldn't have broken it in a month!" The general, his face filling with panic and disbelief flooding his eyes, jumped to his feet, questioning the unfortunate private.

"They seemed to have faced no opposition whatsoever, sir! One of our scouts reported that the entire center of our defense was completely missing in action. We found this note wrapped around a kunai nailed to a pole in the camp." The general tore the strip of paper from the soldier's hand and read it, anger reddening his face as he went.

_The seeds of revolution are hereby sown. Liberty's call draws us go..._

"Curse that treacherous Shinta!" The general cursed, crumpling the paper into nothingness in his hand.

"We need to evacuate now sir! The enemy will be here at any time!"

'_No, my legacy, the pride of my clan, I can't run. Be it death or torture that awaits me, I cannot run. The greater me cannot,' _his heart and mind argued with vicious intensity within him. His face was a picture of distortion, confusion, anger, pain and all things ill, but finally it set. '_I'm sorry my family, but I cannot return to you in the shame of defeat! I will not die in failure! I will fall in the glorious light of battle!'_ Streams of tears burned their way down his set features. '_Live on my family, I do this for you.'_

"Private, I will not run; prepare the soldiers that remain, anyone that can throw a kunai, today we fight for honor and glory! Collect the troops, we march into death!"

As the soldier scuttled away to do his master's bidding, the general stood, nearly alone before his camp, as the waves of enemy flooded forward like a tidal wave, intent upon the destruction of all that stood in its way.

"Feel the true terror of the Aburame Clan!" The man, a single rock against the powers of the crashing sea, reached his hand to his face and tore the wearied sunglasses from their indentions. His fist closed and crushed his longtime companion within the palm of his hand. His eyes snapped open....

"Father, where are we going?" asked the sturdy young boy to his father beside him. He pulled uncomfortably at the heavy pack on his back while looking up to the tall man beside him.

"To freedom son," Shinta said proudly, a glimmer of happiness flashing across his normally stoic features, "Today we lead our brethren away from the oppression of our history and into a glorious new era." The boy glanced behind him again to the large gathering of Aburame peasants trekking along, following his father's lead. Soon, they reached the exterior of a large camp with the large symbol for fire emblazed in red upon a flag waving proudly at the camp's front. Two guards, noticing their presence, called them to a halt.

"What business do you have here Aburame? Speak quickly before I choose to kill you." The larger of the two guards waved a hand, signaling for hordes of his fellow guards to appear from the darkness of the shrubbery.

Shinta answered calmly. "We wish to see your Hokage," he began, taking a slow breath before continuing, "and to join your ranks as a part of the hidden village of Konoha!"


End file.
